Demand for river cruises is so hot, the phones in Beth Schulberg's office won't stop ringing.
On the other end are hopeful passengers, eager to see what the river cruise buzz is all about, said Schulberg, owner of Cruise & Travel Specialists in Lake Oswego, Ore.
And those clients have more options than ever before. About 20 river ships debuted this year and a similar number is expected next year. And looking beyond that, 2027 is on track to be an especially big year for the river sector.
At least 25 new ships -- and counting -- will debut that year as will at least one new line. Celebrity River Cruises will make its highly anticipated entry into the market with two ships and more promised soon after.
Uniworld Boutique River Cruises said its 2027 expansion will be its largest yet, with three newbuilds and one chartered ship. Tauck said its two newbuilds coming in 2027, coupled with new itineraries, represent the biggest growth spurt in company history. AmaWaterways will add three ships that year, while Amadeus River Cruises, Viva Cruises and Emerald Cruises & Tours will add one new ship each. Viking will add eight ships. Domestically, American Cruise Lines will add three ships, with just as many slated for 2028.
Related: Trafalgar puts 2027 river cruises on sale
Despite the growth, travel advisors aren't concerned the industry will reach a saturation point.
"If you look at the numbers for ocean, [river] doesn't even scratch the surface," said Michelle Wiseman Kredi of Krusin with Kredi in Fort Lauderdale. "People are just starting to discover this form of travel ... as a really sustainable and nice way to travel and really immerse themselves in countries. The American public is starting to understand that."
As river lines grow capacity, they are also adding destinations. In 2027, Viking will expand to the Brahmaputra River in India, Viva will launch a Po River cruise in Italy and Riviera Travel will sail the Mekong River for the first time.
And according to Kredi and other advisors, the river cruise customer base is poised for expanded growth in 2027 with Celebrity's entry into the industry.
The line sold out its priority-access bookings in minutes, mostly to Royal Caribbean Group customers eager to give the rivers a try, president Laura Hodges Bethge said during a panel discussion at the CruiseWorld conference in Fort Lauderdale earlier this month.
But where will the ships dock?
The shipbuilding boom does raise one concern for Schulberg.
"I don't worry about having too much inventory, I worry about where the heck they're going to dock," she said.
According to CruiseMapper, a website dedicated to cruise ship tracking, there are 687 river cruise ports in Europe. Competition for space is fierce, and ships often tether themselves to one another, forcing passengers to walk through neighboring ships to disembark.
An example of just how difficult it can be to find prime space was shared by Viking CEO and chairman Torstein Hagen, who said during an earnings call that the line toiled for seven years to secure docking rights in front of the Eiffel Tower.
As an advisor, Schulberg said, it's important to know where ships will dock, as the vessels sometimes have to visit a less desirable location instead of a prime one in the heart of a destination.
One solution for the lines could be to visit smaller, lesser-known ports, as smaller ocean cruise ships do, or for riverside communities to build new docking spaces to attract visitors. But Schulberg said that with concerns about overtourism in Europe, not all destinations may be keen to add cruise tourism infrastructure.
Kredi also said she hopes to see more docking locations. But, she added, a way to combat the limited space in Europe is to, well, leave Europe.
Latin America poses significant potential for river cruises, she said. Amazon river cruises are already growing in popularity and with new options, and AmaWaterways this year launched river cruises in Colombia, which board chairman and co-founder Rudi Schreiner said is slated for more growth as a river cruise destination.
"I know the guests are interested," Kredi said. "I think global expansion is genius."
Editor Ⅰ: Zhang Congxiao
Editor Ⅱ: Bao Gang
Editor Ⅲ: Liu Guosong
